Bloomingdale family braces California blaze
Michal Elseth
Issue date: 9/17/09 Section: Focus
Driving into La Canada Flintridge, Calif., Robert Bloomingdale thought the fire was closing in.
The father of Hillsdale College sophomore Kaitlin Bloomingdale, Bloomingdale had left nearby La Crescenta, Calif. under evacuation orders.
Spending five days babysitting for his son Matt and daughter-in-law Gina, Bloomingdale and his wife Dana arrived in La Crescenta three days after the fire started. Despite knowing of the fire, he said he didn't realize its potential for growth.
The fire still blazed in La Canada Flintridge.
"We would have gone anyway, because we had a childcare mission, if you will," Bloomingdale said. "No one realized how big it would get."
Once they reached La Canada, Kaitlin said, her father sent video and picture updates as they watched firefighters combat the inferno with controlled burns on the hillside 200 yards away.
"My brother was freaking out," Kaitlin said. He and his wife had bought their house a year earlier.
Though worried, Kaitlin said her father's constant updates reduced her fears. After evacuating La Crescenta, they stayed with their daughter-in-law's father in La Canada Flintridge. The house and yard are equipped with a sprinkler system to protect against fires, Kaitlin said, so she felt her family was safe there.
"We actually watched them up on top of the hill doing controlled burns," Bloomingdale said. "We were all just mesmerized by the fire."
As the fire burned closer, Bloomingdale said the air temperature hovered around 100 degrees Fahrenheit, and trees and houses turned gray with ash.
"It was like being next to a campfire for five days," Bloomingdale said.
Bloomingdale said sixty years had elapsed since a wildfire has burned in the area. As such, he said accumulated underbrush is now fueling the fire, forcing it across forests and into residential areas. He said the fire began Wednesday, August 26.
According to the City of La Canada Flintridge's Web site, the Los Angeles County sheriff's department suspects arson, and a homicide investigation is underway.
The site also said two men have died fighting the flames. Firefighter Specialist Arnie Quinones and Captain Ted Hall were killed on August 29 when their vehicle rolled over 80 feet down the mountainside.
The site said 3,650 firefighting personnel have battled the 160,000-acre blaze since August 26. To keep residential neighborhoods safe, the Web site said, firefighters are setting controlled burns which eliminate the wildfire's fuel before it leaves forested areas.
Kaitlin said her family's brush with danger was quite an adventure for them.
"They're glad everything's OK!" she said. "My dad went out to babysit, and he was like, 'I got a wildfire too!'"
For regular updates on the fire, visit http://lacanadaflintridge.com/.
The father of Hillsdale College sophomore Kaitlin Bloomingdale, Bloomingdale had left nearby La Crescenta, Calif. under evacuation orders.
Spending five days babysitting for his son Matt and daughter-in-law Gina, Bloomingdale and his wife Dana arrived in La Crescenta three days after the fire started. Despite knowing of the fire, he said he didn't realize its potential for growth.
The fire still blazed in La Canada Flintridge.
"We would have gone anyway, because we had a childcare mission, if you will," Bloomingdale said. "No one realized how big it would get."
Once they reached La Canada, Kaitlin said, her father sent video and picture updates as they watched firefighters combat the inferno with controlled burns on the hillside 200 yards away.
"My brother was freaking out," Kaitlin said. He and his wife had bought their house a year earlier.
Though worried, Kaitlin said her father's constant updates reduced her fears. After evacuating La Crescenta, they stayed with their daughter-in-law's father in La Canada Flintridge. The house and yard are equipped with a sprinkler system to protect against fires, Kaitlin said, so she felt her family was safe there.
"We actually watched them up on top of the hill doing controlled burns," Bloomingdale said. "We were all just mesmerized by the fire."
As the fire burned closer, Bloomingdale said the air temperature hovered around 100 degrees Fahrenheit, and trees and houses turned gray with ash.
"It was like being next to a campfire for five days," Bloomingdale said.
Bloomingdale said sixty years had elapsed since a wildfire has burned in the area. As such, he said accumulated underbrush is now fueling the fire, forcing it across forests and into residential areas. He said the fire began Wednesday, August 26.
According to the City of La Canada Flintridge's Web site, the Los Angeles County sheriff's department suspects arson, and a homicide investigation is underway.
The site also said two men have died fighting the flames. Firefighter Specialist Arnie Quinones and Captain Ted Hall were killed on August 29 when their vehicle rolled over 80 feet down the mountainside.
The site said 3,650 firefighting personnel have battled the 160,000-acre blaze since August 26. To keep residential neighborhoods safe, the Web site said, firefighters are setting controlled burns which eliminate the wildfire's fuel before it leaves forested areas.
Kaitlin said her family's brush with danger was quite an adventure for them.
"They're glad everything's OK!" she said. "My dad went out to babysit, and he was like, 'I got a wildfire too!'"
For regular updates on the fire, visit http://lacanadaflintridge.com/.
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